Chloe At Worlds' End
Chapter 4

Onri and Ms. Aggie were very much enjoying their swim, so much so that Ms. Aggie had taken to giving Onri rides upon her back around the lake. Onri whooped

“Wee! Faster…!” he shouted as he held fast while hugging her nonexistent neck. He was getting water up his nose but he didn’t care, as it was so much fun. She headed for the far shore, near the place where a small waterfall fed the lake. When she got there, she swam up onto the black sandy shore. They both tumbled sideways, laughing giddily. Onri had to recover a little through his simultaneous giggling and choking. He shook his soaked hair, then looked for his clothes where he had left them. As he was dressing, he pondered aloud

“I wonder how Chloe and Colin are getting along, and if they had much trouble finding Mother” Ms. Aggie answered as she lay next to him while gazing upwards at the curious misty sky of this place.

“Well, it has been a while now. I should think we would be seeing them soon…”

No sooner had Onri finished dressing, than the most unexpected thing happened. He heard some rustling of some tree branches just before him, and when he glanced upwards, two very large and horrid looking apes were already upon him as they swung from vines and landed on either side of him. He screamed in terror and tried to fight them off as one of them grabbed him bodily while the other one painfully kicked Ms. Aggie back into the lake. As she screamed and landed in the water, she saw them run off into the forest, carrying a kicking and fighting Onri. She called out

“Onri!... Onri!” She was in shock as she lay there watching from the shallow water, feeling helpless as they so quickly disappeared. She lamented

“Oh… what am I to do!” She achingly swam back to the other side of the lake where she had entered, and just as she got there she was somewhat relieved to see Colin and Chloe appearing through the ferns.

They could immediately tell something was dreadfully amiss with Ms. Aggie. Chloe exclaimed

“Ms. Aggie… what is it, where is Onri!?”

“Oh Chloe… Colin, the most awful thing did just happen. We had just gotten out of the water on that far shore when these two very large apes swooped out of the trees from vines and attacked us. One of them brutally kicked me back into the lake while the other one grabbed Onri… then they both ran off into the forest!” Chloe screamed as she put her palms to her temples

“No!… my Onri!” She sank to her knees and started to cry. She couldn’t bear the thought of losing him, the only family that she had left. She quickly got her wits about her and stood back up. He would most likely still be alive she thought, as it had just happened. She then said

“I’m sure this must be the work of our enemy, and they must be headed to him now with their captive” Colin agreed

“Yes… yes, I am sure that you must be right!” Ms. Aggie asked

“What do you think we should do?” Chloe thought for a moment, then surmised

“We must now especially hurry to obtain that jewel, as we need its’ power more desperately than ever… Colin, is it very far to that house?”

“No, it’s not far at all. In fact I’m surprised that we can’t see it right now from where we are standing… as it is just beyond those trees.” They all looked in the direction he pointed out with his beak.

Onri struggled to breathe as the smelly, hairy ape gripped him tightly across its’ chest. Aside from almost being asphyxiated, he was also alarmed at how fast they were traversing through the forest away from his party. He looked ahead of them and saw that they were rapidly approaching the volcanic area. He always thought that place would forever be a quest of his dreams, but these were definitely not the circumstances in which he would ever have imagined to fulfill them.

When they reached the base of the active volcano, Onri couldn’t tear his eyes from the continuous flow of hot magma which formed a ‘river’ alongside them as they entered the large cave of its source. The light that radiated from the flames of it illuminated the whole interior of the mountain. Onri watched as they traversed up an embankment that was littered with the cast off bones and skulls of past carnal meals of the wolves that were fighting and snapping at each other over the scraps, and which also lunged and snapped at them as well as they rushed past. Onri tried to tuck in his feet lest they get bitten off.

Chloe, Colin, and Ms. Aggie made their way through the fragrant, floral brush and were soon rewarded with the historical sight of the original Chloe’s ancestral home. Chloe thought the antiquated three storied Victorian home looked quite out of place here, although there was no denying its cheery and welcoming aura. She marveled at its significance to her, and also thought that it looked very charming… even in its slightly run down state under the thick flowered vegetation, which had gained the upper hand over the whole structure. It looked to still have the original worn painted exterior of greens and blues, with all the windows trimmed in a faded yellow. They stopped before it and gazed up at the wondrous third story attic balcony with its open French doors, where Chloe wisp-fully imagined their present miracle of a reality began so long ago.

Chloe suddenly got a chill up her spine. She just remembered that Mother had said the original enchanted furniture of centuries past were still up there and keeping each other company after all of this time! She said to her friends

“Mother has said that what we’re looking for would be found in the attic…” They made their way up the front steps, through the front door and foyer, and up the stairs which they found along the wall on their right. As they climbed the last steps towards the attic door, Chloe nervously eyed Colin and Ms. Aggie as they hopped from one step to the next along with her. They probably couldn’t imagine the awe and trepidation that she felt as they neared the partially opened door. As she grasped the brass doorknob, she couldn’t help but pause for a moment… to gain a little courage. She slowly pushed it open as it produced a loud and dry creaking sound. They shuffled inside single file and stopped in the center of the room upon ‘the’ carpet. Chloe surmised her two new friends wouldn’t know anything about the history of this room and its’ occupants. She warned them

“Colin… Ms. Aggie, I don’t want you to be alarmed if you find that we are not exactly alone in here…” Ms. Aggie replied

“I’m not sure what you mean… there is no one here but us” Chloe looked around at all of the familiar pieces of furniture that she had read about, as well as the carpet they were standing upon. They looked exactly as were described to her and all schoolchildren, and it was awe inspiring… even a little spooky, she thought. She chanced

“Hello everyone… do I look at all familiar to anyone here?” Suddenly she was startled and jumped when the Grandfather clock chimed, then clanged twice for two-o-clock, then… nothing.

She felt to be on pins and needles as she stood there… waiting… then she chanced again

“My name is Chloe… I’m the ‘new’ Chloe…” Then, one corner of the carpet under them flapped with speech

“Of that I am certain is true… Chloe, please accept our apologies for not greeting you immediately, as we are all still a little shook up here from a recent intruder” Colin and Ms. Aggie jumped with a start as they looked down, then at one another. Chloe answered, relieved

“That is quite all right, Mother has informed me of what has happened here recently” The piano near the open French doors then chimed with musical notes and male speech

“Hello Chloe, it is nice to meet you… and who are your friends?”

“Hello Mr. Piano, I’m also charmed to meet you… this is Colin and Ms. Aggie” they greeted him, surprised “Hello…” Colin added

“I was informed by Mother of all of you here, but I was not sure until now that I quite believed it” Chloe greeted the rest of them

“And hello to you all, it’s quite remarkable for me to meet you” a chorus of greetings were heard from around the room as suddenly they all became animated in answering her… the burgundy wing back chair, the wooden chair beside it, the bureau of drawers, the grandfather clock, and the antiquated relic of a vacuum cleaner choired “Good afternoon!” Chloe offered

“I’m sorry to hear that you all were violated here… is everyone all right?” Ms. Wingback Chair answered her

“Thank you for your concern Chloe, yes we are all just fine. But my, you do look the spitting image of our most dear and long departed friend Chloe, as she was when she was a little girl… you stir up so many fond memories for me, and for the rest of us here I am sure” Chloe answered

“Thank you… you have all been here for a very, very long time…” Ms. Wingback chair continued

“Yes, it has been such a long time that we have been here, and we are so thankful to your ancestral matriarch for instilling our safe continuity here. But yes, recently we were surprised when that frightful wolf came in here and overstayed his welcome. At first we didn’t know what to make of him as he took up residence in here with us. Then, after the effects of one of the ‘life jewels’ in here awakened him, it became clear who and what he was when he spoke to us so harshly and threatened us before stealing the larger of the two stones… and then left”

Chloe was thinking ahead just now, and realized that mother had asked her to come here to borrow their remaining jewel, the only one left which kept them alive, she needed to use some polite tact to suggest it. She reasoned

“It now appears there are some similarities between what happened so long ago, and what is taking place again today… didn’t Chloe, with all of your help, use the jewel to fight and win an epic battle against this same foe?” Grandfather clock answered her

“Yes, she succeeded with great courage, along with the help of some very brave friends… and when she returned she completed her task by reawakening me to my friends here. The stone that you refer to is still untouched and in the exact place where Chloe put it over eight centuries ago, and I can think of no other person who could qualify to use it… or to even lay a finger upon it… than you Chloe” He opened his front wood framed glass door, and as a small drawer slid open, he continued

“Please keep it safe for us”

Chloe stepped closer to him, she felt her heart pounding right out of her chest, she was about to handle ‘the’ jewel. She poked her eyes and nose above the lip of the drawer to peer inside… and there it was, all aglow in its’ amethyst colored sparkling purple splendor. She held her breath and reached inside and grasped it, pulled it out, and then held it in her open palm to marvel at its depths. It was still fastened into a gold setting that was used to help affix it to ‘the’ staff. As soon as she thought of the staff, she happened to notice that there it was, leaning against the wall between the open French door and Mr. Piano. It was almost indiscernible under the layers of accumulated dust and cobwebs.

The fantastical thought of herself bravely wielding the jeweled staff while riding upon Mr. Carpet with enchanted friends, just as Chloe had, had been an unfathomable dream all her young life… yet here she was, about to do exactly that! She stepped over to the staff, picked it up, and wiped all the grime from it. She marveled at it as she noticed where the jewel once fit snugly into the knobby ‘handle’. As she brought her hand which held the jewel closer towards the staff in order to see if it would still fit, the jewel jumped of its’ own accord and snapped itself tightly into place!

Chloe gasped in surprise, as suddenly the jewel also began to radiate an intensifying, warm glow. She held the staff at arms’ length as it brightened… and watched as violet colored energy seeped from the jewel. It progressively ensconced the staff, and continued along her arm until it formed a tingling corona around her entire body. The glowing brightness of the jewel then subsided to a moderate level as she stood there… mystified as to what could possibly happen next. Then, as she looked at the surprised faces of Colin and Ms. Aggie, she began to feel something. But ‘feel’ wasn’t quite the correct word… she began to perceive something, something altogether new. She was looking at Colin… she was seeing Colin… but now he was more than just Colin. The jewel had awakened in her mind the ability to add another dimension to her awareness. Her perception of him was now more than only his physical embodiment, which reflected photons of light that registered upon her retinas, but an entirely new way of seeing him… like a superimposed outline of him that depending on which version of him she focused on, would be the one that presented itself.

At first she was frightened, but as she calmed herself down and cleared her mind, it began to make sense. She was now seeing his consciousness, and there were different planes of it depending on where she looked. When she glanced outside through the open French doors and focused on a vine shrouded tree, there was indeed also a living consciousness there, which it shared with its peers around it in communication. She found that if she focused her thoughts solely in this realm, then that is where she was…

As she floated along in bodiless travel, she found that she could also differentiate the genetic make-up of the life she looked at, as well as the evolutional memories of its past and hints of its logical futures. She encountered Mother… and could plainly see her. She had no form in a familiar sense, but in that of a web which interconnected all living matter and consciousness. She existed boundless of time in a continuum of perpetuity. Mother spoke to her

“Hello Chloe, thank you for coming to visit me” Chloe answered without speaking

“Hello Mother, I am astonished here in seeing all of this… I can see there is so much to learn that it would take more than a lifetime to perceive it all…”

“Yes, you are correct in that it would be beyond your present genetic longevity to encompass it all. But that would not be your function to try and do so. I spoke to you earlier about the malevolent spirit which comprises the entity who once called himself Rajeem… do you see him here?” Chloe could indeed see him as mother pointed him out.

“Yes… I do!”

“And I also mentioned to you that there was a perplexing condition concerning his real time existence… as he is somehow in more than one location simultaneously. Can you see this as well?” Chloe answered

“Yes, I do see it… it seems to impossibly defy the natural order of things…” Chloe exited the realm and brought her mind squarely back to the room. Mother continued

“I am content for now that you have seen this, and I am confident that soon, together you and I will make sense of this. This entity has caused wide spread destruction of life and consciousness in the past and is now again doing the same. I will leave you now to your thoughts uninterrupted, but I am here when you need me”

“Thank you Mother.”

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